i never knew falls were so philosophical
So I followed through with part 2 of my new year's resolution. I took risks. I did bomb that mountain. Quite literally.
To begin with, I won a race by (literally) nearly killing this lady on skis (I'm pretty sure my board crossed her path less than a foot away from the tip of her skis but I didn't really have time to notice). But I won. And I was so incredibly hopped up on adrenaline by the end of that run that I was still breathing hard by the time that we got back up to the top of the mountain. I have no idea how fast I was going, I only know that I was booking it. I didn't have time to turn, I probably couldn't have even if I had tried to. I knew that if I was going to get past her I had to go faster, and I did, and I made it. Probably scared her beyond belief, but everyone finished that run in one piece.
Speaking of finishing in one piece, I had the most epic fall ever. EVER. Cheyenne saw it all happen and she says she really doesn't know what happened. I'm not sure how it started. I was cruising down the mountain pretty fast, and right at the top of this one steep downhill I must have caught an edge or something. All I know is that I start falling. Not just sliding, but tumbling end over end over end. I have no idea how many times I hit my head, I know that my chin hit my knee (probably) and I saw a flash of really bright blue light, and eventually I was able to stop myself. Somewhere in there I hurt my ankle, and I knew it was going to be bad later so once I was done laughing at myself and talking about how epic the run was I knew I had to finish the hill and get back to the lodge before the lovely pain-killing effects of all the adrenaline in my system wore off. That night I couldn't put any weight on it so showering was interesting, but it's a lot better today. I missed going into DC with everyone. I can walk on it, but I know that a whole day on my feet would NOT have been a good thing. Hopefully it'll be better by Tuesday. It has to be because I fully intend on going to Wisp for two days. So it doesn't have a choice.
But I never knew how true my prediction would turn out to be. I took a risk. I went harder than I usually do, got a bigger shot of adrenaline than I usually do (which is good since I'm more or less an adrenaline junkie), and I fell a lot harder than I usually do. I pushed my limits and boundaries, but most of all I pushed myself. And I had a lot of fun. Maybe not more than I usually do, because I love carving into the mountain just as much as the next person, but the speed sure is a thrill that I haven't had in a long time. I got my confidence back. I got that little bit of swagger back. And yeah I ate it really hard, but in life, not just boarding, we have to pay our dues and when we go hard we run the risk that we'll fall hard too. But while I complained about it later I'd still do it again in a heartbeat. As soon as I was able to stop myself I started laughing and yelling at everyone about how awesome of a fall it was. I was ecstatic. Because I fell.
Falling hard hurts. It hurts a lot. But that soaring feeling and that rush that you get while you're still riding makes it worth it.
Whenever I'm down after a hard fall I hope that I can look back on that tumble on the mountain. I hope that I can put it in perspective and I hope that end of the day I'll still be able to say that it was worth it. And yesterday, yesterday was worth it.
To begin with, I won a race by (literally) nearly killing this lady on skis (I'm pretty sure my board crossed her path less than a foot away from the tip of her skis but I didn't really have time to notice). But I won. And I was so incredibly hopped up on adrenaline by the end of that run that I was still breathing hard by the time that we got back up to the top of the mountain. I have no idea how fast I was going, I only know that I was booking it. I didn't have time to turn, I probably couldn't have even if I had tried to. I knew that if I was going to get past her I had to go faster, and I did, and I made it. Probably scared her beyond belief, but everyone finished that run in one piece.
Speaking of finishing in one piece, I had the most epic fall ever. EVER. Cheyenne saw it all happen and she says she really doesn't know what happened. I'm not sure how it started. I was cruising down the mountain pretty fast, and right at the top of this one steep downhill I must have caught an edge or something. All I know is that I start falling. Not just sliding, but tumbling end over end over end. I have no idea how many times I hit my head, I know that my chin hit my knee (probably) and I saw a flash of really bright blue light, and eventually I was able to stop myself. Somewhere in there I hurt my ankle, and I knew it was going to be bad later so once I was done laughing at myself and talking about how epic the run was I knew I had to finish the hill and get back to the lodge before the lovely pain-killing effects of all the adrenaline in my system wore off. That night I couldn't put any weight on it so showering was interesting, but it's a lot better today. I missed going into DC with everyone. I can walk on it, but I know that a whole day on my feet would NOT have been a good thing. Hopefully it'll be better by Tuesday. It has to be because I fully intend on going to Wisp for two days. So it doesn't have a choice.
But I never knew how true my prediction would turn out to be. I took a risk. I went harder than I usually do, got a bigger shot of adrenaline than I usually do (which is good since I'm more or less an adrenaline junkie), and I fell a lot harder than I usually do. I pushed my limits and boundaries, but most of all I pushed myself. And I had a lot of fun. Maybe not more than I usually do, because I love carving into the mountain just as much as the next person, but the speed sure is a thrill that I haven't had in a long time. I got my confidence back. I got that little bit of swagger back. And yeah I ate it really hard, but in life, not just boarding, we have to pay our dues and when we go hard we run the risk that we'll fall hard too. But while I complained about it later I'd still do it again in a heartbeat. As soon as I was able to stop myself I started laughing and yelling at everyone about how awesome of a fall it was. I was ecstatic. Because I fell.
Falling hard hurts. It hurts a lot. But that soaring feeling and that rush that you get while you're still riding makes it worth it.
Whenever I'm down after a hard fall I hope that I can look back on that tumble on the mountain. I hope that I can put it in perspective and I hope that end of the day I'll still be able to say that it was worth it. And yesterday, yesterday was worth it.